A Few of My Favorite Things

Oh, we made another good veggie recipe last night!  I am a sucker for anything with lime, or cilantro, or black beans, so of course throwing them all together in one springy, brightly-colored dish is heaven.  This makes a light and refreshing meal as these Texas days continue to heat up (this morning, for the first time, I didn't need the heater to take the chill off my drive to work!).  I served the salad over quinoa cooked with chicken broth to make it a little more substantial (if you haven't tried quinoa yet, you really should, it's an amazingly nutritious grain with deliciously nutty flavor and you can find it in most supermarkets).  And since I felt like going the extra mile, I even made my own whole wheat flour tortilla chips, which were pretty tasty.

Spring Time Black Bean and Pepper Salad

Ingredients for Dressing:
Juice and zest of 2 limes
2 Tbs. olive oil

1/2 tsp. Chipotle Tabasco Sauce

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for Salad:
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 medium red onion, chopped
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1 avocado, sliced, for topping (if desired)

Directions:
Mix up all the dressing ingredients in a large bowl with a lid that fits on really tight.  Add  the rinsed and drained black beans, put the lid on and shake it all up real good (this part's always fun!) to thoroughly coat the beans.  Set that aside to marinate a little while you're chopping veggies (I also got the quinoa and the tortilla chips going at this time so it would all be ready together).

Once all your vegetables are chopped, toss everything but the avocado in with the marinated beans and mix it all up good.  Spoon dressed salad over quinoa and top with avocado slices.  Then grab your tortilla chips and eat it all up.

Homemade Whole-Wheat Tortilla Chips (for extra credit):

While oven is heating to 300, mix a few Tbs. olive oil in a small bowl with one clove minced garlic and a healthy helping of sea salt.  Brush oil mixture over whole wheat tortillas (you can get great ones from the bakery at most grocery stores) and cut into quarters.  Spread tortilla wedges over a cookie sheet (it's okay if they overlap slightly) and bake for 10-15 minutes until toasty.  You'll want to keep an eye on them, as they can go from needs-a-little-more-time to Cajun-blackened very quickly.  Try as a compliment to this meal or a fun snack with hummus and other dips any time.